The present invention relates to a connector for terminating conductors and, more particularly, to a connector assembly for terminating a shielded, jacketed flat cable.
The use of flat cables for interconnecting components of electrical and electronic equipment has been rapidly increasing. Flat cable allows high density wiring, offers a neat appearance, and is conducive to use with labor saving mass termination insulation displacement connectors. It is sometimes necessary to shield the signal conductors in the flat cable from stray voltages or current induced by electrical fields by surrounding the conductors with a metal foil or braid connected to ground.
Typically, the shield is grounded by stripping away an end portion of the outer jacket of the cable, folding the exposed portion of the shield back over the jacket and bolting together a pair of metallic blocks with the exposed shield positioned therebetween. It will be appreciated that this grounding method is time consuming and operator judgment is required regarding the degree of tightening of the blocks. Inadequate tightening results in poor electrical contact between the blocks and the shield while excessive tightening of the blocks beyond the elastic limits of the jacket material and other insulation could result in short circuiting of the conductors. Additionally, this grounding method relies on the resiliency of the jacket and insulation to maintain firm contact between the blocks and shield. With age, the plastic material between the blocks loses its resiliency and takes a permanent set thereby degrading the contact between the foil and blocks.
One proposed connector assembly for terminating a shielded flat cable includes a pair of grounding straps for holding the cable shield therebetween. Each strap has ends terminating in eyelets for receiving a screw for holding the straps together by attaching them to a connector housing component, and one strap is bowed and the other is flat. For further information regarding the structure and operation of such connector assembly, reference may be made to U.S. Pat. No. 3,337,834.